Jordan Duque said back in July, he was driving along Old Greenhouse Road in west Harris County with his girlfriend when he heard an alarming sound.
"There's a huge like loud thud on my door," Duque said. "I already knew it was bad as soon as I heard it."
Duque said crews were doing vegetation maintenance with large machinery in the area when he was driving by. He said a county worker called a supervisor, who arrived, and law enforcement came not long after.
According to a report by the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office, which Duque provided to ABC13, a county maintenance lawn mower was operating off the roadway in a ditch and spit out debris that caused a dent on the front right passenger side.
"They both went over the claim process with me. Just told me all the things I need to do, and that they would have everything covered with the pictures," Duque said.
Duque's mother, Vivian, said she helped him with that process. She said she submitted all the required pictures and documentation.
"I sent it all," Vivian said. "I sent everything."
Both of them said they thought it was a straightforward case. Vivian said that after repeatedly reaching out, she finally heard back on Friday.
"She's like, 'Oh, yeah, it's not covered.' I'm like, 'Did you look through the documents I sent you? Did you look through the police report?'" Vivian said.
A local attorney confirmed to ABC13 that it is common for government agencies to claim immunity for damage to private property that happens in the course of their normal duties.
The attorney said that unless a case fits into an exception, people are typically out of luck. He said they would have to file a claim under their own insurance policy.
Vivian said they don't want to do that, because their insurance agent said their rate would likely go up. So now, she said, they are left with the damage.
"We don't have $3,000 sitting around to go fix it," Vivian said. "We shouldn't have to because it wasn't our fault."
ABC13 reached out to Harris County to get a better understanding of why this claim was denied.
The Risk Management Division confirmed they did get this claim and said they would look into this and get back to Eyewitness News with more information.